Ep 5 – 08/29/14 – Bridge HIV

For tonight’s show we’ll be interviewing Garza from Bridge HIV, a Bay Area based leader in innovating global HIV prevention research. Bridge HIV used to be the research section of the department of Public Health and during the HIV epidemic, they initiated a vaccine clinical study of HEP-B. Scientists then discovered HIV around that study. Researchers have been involved in the very beginning in ways to prevent HIV.

This feed goes live Friday 08/29/14 6pm-8pm and is viewable indefinitely.

Now, Bridge HIV works strictly on prevention, doing studies, and clinical trials. They are constantly discovering different tools to add to the research. Doing their part in the PREP study and creating a lubrication that has PREP (Truvada). Truvada is a combination of two medications to prevent HIV.

They have global networks and studies happening, with clinical studies happening in San Francisco. There’s an HIV unit in Seattle, a trial network in Chicago, prevention trials in North Carolina, and studies in Africa, Peru, Latin America, and Thailand.

Their team is the front-line that does street out-reach, presentations, Craigslist outreach, dating apps (Grindr, Hornet, etc.), and a combination of studies that compensate people who participate in studies. They work with NGOs in San Francisco and are trying to increase their reach.

They work with everybody, not just LBGT identified individuals.

If you’re interested in this conversation and have any questions, give us a call in the studio 707-545-0318 or tweet us @thequeerlife